The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1887-07-20
STORIES OF SHARKS.
Bits of Information Concerning the Habits
of the Dreaded Man Eaters.

Bits of Information Concerning the Habits
of the Dreaded Man-Eaters.
While an English ship was lying off
Port Natal, sevcreal huge sharks, some
of them more than fifteen feet in
length, were seen sweeping under the
vessels counter and along her sides.
A hook was baited and thrown over
board, and was Immediately swallowed
by one of the biggest OF the fish,
which quietly cut the line with its
teeth, taking no further notice OF it.
Then the breast of buck was weight
ed, that it might sink, and inside OF it
there was placed a charge of gun-cot-
ton, and the whole connected by wire
with an electric battery. No sooner
had the venison touched the water
than the shark made straight for it,
but just as he opened his mouth to
swallow the bait, the charge was ex'
ploded, and his jaws were completely
shattered. The monster turned on its
back and sank in the bay.
The shark family is large one. and
most of the species are hideously ugly.
A few have kind of fierce beauty
about their shapes. Such is the fin.
tail, whose color is cinerous, streaked
in some parts with red and dotted
with small black spots Such, too. is
the sea-fox. as it used to be called,
found in the Mediterranean and re-
markable for the great length and fine
proportions of It's tail, the body being
about seven feet and the tail six feet
long.
The lump of beef or pork, the large
hook connected by chain to the line,
the adroit payingout of the bait-this
is the. old-fashioned device by means OF
which many thousands of the sailors
enemy have been caught, and then re-
turned to the deep in fragments, to
serve as food for other sharks. But
this method OF fishing is not sure. The
creature often escapes after gorgng
the hook. To make his destruction
certain the sailors sometimes blow
mp with powder or other explosives
hilden in the bait.
The horror of the deep is the white
shark, which is often thirty feet long
weighs 1000 pounds. 1t has a mouth
furnished with six-fold row of teeth,
fiat, triangular and finely serrated.
When this shark is in state of repose
these dreadful teeth lie fiat in the
mouth. but when it seizes its prey they
rise like the tabled growth of deadly
weapons from out of the soil.
.. Among certain tribes in the South
sea the shark used to be worshiped
under the title of Joujou. Its votaries
sacrificed rabbits to it; but, knowing
i's appetite. once year they bound a
child ten years of age, and decorated
with flowers, TO a post on the beach,
at low tide, and then left it to be de-
ronred by Joujou.
For ages seamen have viewed the
shark as creature of ill-omen. They
believed that it could scent victim
even though he should be perfectly
well, and without suspicion of his
death being close at hand; and that it
would follow ship that had dead
body in her for leagues and leagues.
In Ceylon there are people who be-
lieve. in shark-charmers, called Kudai
or Timmal, which signifies 'sea-breed-
ers." These magicians are employed
by pearl-divers to protect them while
under water. There is a head wizard,
pcnsioned by the Government. to
whom every boat gives ten oysters
daily.
To harpoon shark requires prac-
ticed eye and cunning hand. The
vessel, moreover, should be motionless,
and the shark within reach of the har.
pooners muscle CHICAGO NeaDS.
~sS